Another Christmas, come and gone

We had a wonderful Christmas this year - our first here in Wallingford, CT - and really got into reliving old and creating new traditions. Here are two shots of (1) Ella and me sprinkling "Reindeer food" in the yard right before bed on Christmas eve and (2) Ella and Liam playing in their new blocks on Christmas morning - note the darkness in the windows in the background, it was just after 6:00 am.

Ella's first Christmas Pageant

Ella's preschool had its Christmas performance/celebration the other day and, after attending the Thanksgiving feast and watching Ella never open her mouth as the class sang songs, we were curious as to what her level of participation would be in this event... She started off great (clip #1), jingling her bells as loudly and eagerly as the others as they all marched in, and continued to do so as they all sang Jingle Bells (a song she knows well), but then (clip #2) made a resolute decision not to follow any more directions and you can actually see her almost grab for her bells or start making hand motions and then stop, shake her head and pout. We had a great laugh. (And stay tuned for a recap and video of the Christmas Eve performance...) (AGAIN, WILL UPLOAD SOON)

Chaos

This is often how our living room looks. Thank goodness for inexpensive yet reasonably durable furniture!

Loving Bianca

Liam has taken a real liking to Bianca lately. He barely leaves her alone and if you turn around, you're bound to find him on her bed. We had to snap this picture of him, because it reminded us so much of how Ella used to sit with her at that age. Never wanting to be upstaged, Ella then squeezed her way onto the bed and asked to have her picture taken. What a sweet little ham!

I just gotta be me

Here's a video of Liam talking from a couple weeks ago. In the background you'll hear an episode of The Office, which I was playing on my laptop while Ella, Liam and I ate dinner, because it was the last night before Will started vacation and I was just barely making it... For some reason, Ella loves The Office. She calls Michael (Steve Carell) "the silly guy" and constantly asks where he is when he is not on screen. Funny. (WILL UPLOAD VIDEO LATER WHEN SITE IS WORKING)

You'll have to excuse me, I'm eating...

Liam does a nice job of coating his face and often hair in food when he eats, as you can see in these pictures. Luckily, he is a fantastic eater, loving everything from peas to tofu to ham to bananas and all sorts of other textures and flavors. In fact, he has gotten his sister to start eating tofu, because she is so eager to "share" with him... Again, only from his plate.

Wow

So it actually took some bribing, but I finally got Ella to let me put her hair in braids one day and I could not believe how old she looked and how much she looked just like me at her age... When we're out and about, people often tell me that we are dead ringers for each other, but there are certainly looks that bring it out more than others. I will try to scan a photo from my past at some point for a little comparison, because at least in my memory, there is a great deal of similarity.

Busy, Tiring, Fun

My days with Ella and Liam are anything but tranquil. They keep me incredibly busy, both physically and mentally, and give me plenty of things to laugh and growl about each day. I feel so lucky to have this time with them and cannot wait for all the adventures that await us in 2011...

Brother and Sister

Years from now, when Liam asks if Ella liked him, we will certainly say "yes." She squeezes him on an hourly basis, it seems. But if he asks if she mistreated him, we will have to say "yes" as well, because she is constantly grabbing and pushing him. Most of the time, it is within the bounds of a "friendly" wrestle, but there are certainly times when we have to intervene... Luckily, he is a pretty resilient, tough little guy, but maybe that's thanks to her...

Before and after

Who doesn't love eating batter? Especially brownie batter! Ella is sure a fan of baking when she gets to lick the spatula afterward, but who can blame her!?

More Thanksgiving

Here are some sweet shots of Liam walking (with help still, of course), Ella "sharing" Cheerios with Liam (she likes to brag about sharing with him, even though it's most often his stuff!) and Liam looking a lot like his dad (especially in the hairstyle!)

Thanksgiving!

We enjoyed a visit from my folks here in CT in the week prior to Thanksgiving, then headed north together for another joint-family celebration in the Adirondacks. What a treat for the kids to have all four grandparents (as well as a great-grandmother and numerous aunts and uncles!) all together for a holiday! Here are some group shots from that event.

A family shot

Here is a family shot from Halloween thanks to Bill who was up visiting.

The fall leaves

Although our leaves were not all that spectacular this fall, and took a while to accumulate, we did have some opportunities for some rather large leaf piles that were great for diving.

E & L

Ella loves hugging Liam - and manhandling him most of the time. He is very tolerant and is certainly learning a good lesson in toughness as a result.

Trick-or-Treat

Here is a video of Ella trick-or-treating at one of the best-decorated houses in the neighborhood.

Trick-or-treating and melting down

Here are two memories from the actual day of Halloween - one of Ella happily going door to door (we visited seven houses) and then another of her mini-breakdown at the Halloween party that afternoon. It was hard to say what caused it, but it is captured on film in a funny way, so I had to include it.

Halloween!

Ella loved Halloween this year. She did lots of arts and crafts projects in school and at home in preparation and really got into trick-or-treating. It took some time to finalize her costume, which was going to be a butterfly ON a flower (a combo of two of her top six - butterfly, flower, dragon, baby, cat, crane), but ended up just wearing the flower parts, which was fine - especially since it was a very cold night and she was bundled up in a jacket most of the time! In these pics, you get to see Ella and Liam a day or two before Halloween, trying on costumes, and then Ella with her spider hat that she made at school.

On the move

Liam is crawling everywhere and getting into everything. A smiling menace, he gleefully grabs sister's toys, eats books and loves to play "suckerfish" on the windows. Here are some recent shots...

A boy and his Cheerios

Liam has been trying all sorts of foods lately and really seems to love Cheerios, pancakes and mashed potatoes. It is fun to watch him take 10 minutes to eat 15 Cheerios and deposit 20 more on his lap. He is getting much more adept at his "pincer grip," which, as Will notes, involves immobilizing the three lesser fingers...

Liam.... Buddy!

Liam gets called a lot of things, but "Buddy" and "Bruder-Bruds" are some of Ella's favorites. Sometimes it's "Buddy Liam" too. In this quick video, you can hear Ella and me calling him - it is funny to see which name gets his attention.

Sister makes me laugh

I caught Ella entertaining Liam one afternoon with some peek-a-boo, so I asked her to repeat it on film for me...

Morris men

As much as I hate to encourage Yankee fans, I did have to put Liam into this Brenner hand-me-down at least once, especially since we're into the post-season. My favorite is the second one, where the little guy looks a bit conflicted - I think we may have a Sox fan in there yet...

More Liam

Just a couple more to share...

Mr. Sunshine

Liam is loving bouncing and dancing lately. He is constantly crawling from couch to chair and pulling himself up to stand and gum the furniture. My favorite is when he lies his head down and just stares off into the distance.